Arizona education department bans Ethnic Studies and teaching with heavy accents

[Alexandre Enkerli]

Funny, I was just writing a message about this.
Saw both here:
http://www.joannejacobs.com/2010/05/arizona-vs-accents-ethnic-studies/
The assessment of teachers' English language proficiency using
"accent" seems especially relevant, for us.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703572504575213883276427528.html?mod=WSJ_WSJ_US_News_5

Sounds to me like accents are one of those topics which generate lots
of interest in the general public but is rarely discussed
academically. Of course, it's something of an imprecise concept, in
linguistic terms, as it combines segmental, suprasegmental, prosody,
etc. In fact, people often use "accent" to mean fluency in general,
sometimes including word choice. Lots to say about language ideology,
here. What would be especially "funny" is if someone were to use this
new rule to challenge a teacher from another English-speaking region.
As far as I can tell, Airzona isn't known for a recognizable accent.
At least, that's what I remember from an AZ-born student in my
linguistic anthro course at Tufts.

As for the ethnic studies issue, it makes it sound like ethnicity and
"race" are now conflated in public discourse in the US.
"It would ban La Raza studies because it's a course that's aimed
primarily at members of one race, and we have testimony that this has
promoted resentment toward one race," Horne said Friday. "Raza" means
"race."
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/2010/05/01/20100501arizona-bill-bans-ethnic-studies.html#ixzz0mnclwomS

As Leila said, those of you on Twitter can use this opportunity to
send replies @linganth.

--
Alex Enkerli
Concordia University, Montreal


On Sun, May 2, 2010 at 12:31, Leila Monaghan <leila.monaghan at gmail.com> wrote:
> New education policies in Arizona bans Ethnic Studies and teachers teaching
> in heavy accents:
>
> http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/04/30/arizona-ethnic-studies-cl_n_558731.html?ref=fb&src=sp
>
> More information welcome and feel free to jump in a conversation on our new
> Twitter chat channel #linganth
>
> all best,
>
> Leila
>
>
>
> --
> Leila Monaghan, PhD
> Department of Anthropology
> University of Wyoming
> Laramie, Wyoming
>